NATSO Blog: May 2013

Are the entry door thresholds at your truck stops and travel plazas ADA compliant? This post will give you information to determine the answer to this question. Thresholds that are too high at front entry doors are one of the top 20 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance issues we see in truck stops and travel plazas.

We also saw a focus on an open, inviting shopping experience, whereas UK retailers had much larger SKU counts driven in the food categories with robust offerings of prepared and ‘craft’ fresh offerings.

No matter how you look at it, the human resource piece of running a successful operation is often the biggest daily challenge. In this day and age, even with unemployment over double-digits in many areas of the United States, hiring, training and retaining are a struggle.

I have noticed in my travels and visits with independent operators who do not have automated process that scheduling team member appropriately can be difficult. Those that are doing schedules manually often tell me that the process for laying out a week’s worth of work is not a 20-minute activity. I think we all would agree that if we are spending hours on manual schedules, it is not a good distribution of manager or ownership labor hours. Below are some helpful hints to scheduling you may want to consider.

1. Try not to guarantee anyone a specific shift unless they are looking for the 3-11 or 11-7. I know it is tough to recruit, but the more flexible your staff is, the easier to schedule.

2.Try not to guarantee weekends off. Every staff member should work some weekends. Use your weekends to award good staff performance.

The Renewable Fuel Standard was signed into law in 2005 as a way to boost domestic production of renewable fuels. The RFS standard had many mandates but the main piece affecting today’s fueling infrastructure is the use of ethanol.